Zouwu | The Classic of Mountains and Seas

20th illustration of 山海经 (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) - 驺吾 (Zōu Wú)
In the Lin Kingdom, there is a rare wild beast. It has size of a tiger, with five-colored stripes on its body and a tail longer than its body. Riding it can travel a thousand miles only single day. It is also said that Zouwu is a white tiger with black stripes and only appears during the reign of a kind ruler.
Although it looks ferocious, it doesn't eat living things, doesn't walk on living grass, and only eats the meat of dead animals, so Zouwu is a benevolent beast in Chinese culture. Since ancient times, Zouwu has been worshipped by scholars and writers of all generations as a symbol of good fortune, loyalty, benevolence and righteousness, with its fierce appearance and powerful character.
In addition, Kangxi Dictionary believes that "吾" is the same as "虞", so according to the principle of homophones, their pronunciations should be the same. So if you see "驺吾", you should also read it as 驺虞(Zōu Yú). Modern dictionaries mark it as "Zōu Wú", which is strictly spelling not quite right. When reading ancient documents, if you see the text is "驺虞", it should read as "驺yú". If the text is "驺吾", it should also be read as "驺yú". There are no strict rules for pronouncing anyway, it depends on the situation.
This mythical creature was introduced in the film Fantastic Beasts 2 with pronounced "Zōu Wú". Zouwu is restored with a huge body, tiger appearance and patterns, and a conspicuous big tail. The righteous magicians use the characteristics of Zouwu's "traveling a thousand miles a day" to travel through time and space. The storyline where the main character Newt subdues Zouwu with a cat teaser also fully demonstrates its cute and kind nature under its majestic appearance, which is very cute.
Speed Painting: https://youtube.com/shorts/ppo7A5BCowE